rpbooks Chapter 601 The Expected Loss
Chapter 601 The Expected Loss
Chapter 601 The Expected Loss
The Bucks at the top of the Eastern Conference did not make the Thunder spend too much time.At least, compared to the previous few games that had been played to the point of death, it was not particularly difficult for the Thunder to win this night.
Antetokounmpo delivered another super-performance game of his season.Although the result is not satisfactory, the best of both worlds does not happen every night.Just like the Thunder, none of the statistics of Westbrook, An Luo and Paul George can compare with Antetokounmpo, but they kept the victory in Oklahoma.Thunder players played more team-based.Under Westbrook's series, almost everyone participated in the offensive end.The defensive end also worked together to isolate Antetokounmpo from the Bucks' shooters.
After this game, voices supporting the Thunder became the mainstream of public opinion.Although they feel that the Thunder still have some opponents in the West that cannot be easily defeated, as long as they reach the finals, defending the title is not a difficult task.After all, in the past games, they have defeated the Celtics, 76ers and Thunder.There is another Raptors that have not met, but judging from the recent game situation, the Raptors, who are experiencing a losing streak, do not seem to be the opponent of the Thunder.
Therefore, the Thunder's biggest opponent is still in the West.
Needless to say, the Warriors are still the Thunder's biggest obstacle.Of course, compared to the Warriors, the Thunder is also the strongest stumbling block for them to re-enter the Finals.After the previous farce of cannibalism, the Warriors finally returned to their normal state.This month, they won consecutive victories and finally surpassed the Nuggets and returned to the second place in the Western Conference.Cousins returned from injury against the Clippers.Although affected by the foul, everyone still saw the picture of the finale expected before the start of the season.
When Cousins was supporting in the high position, the Clippers' center did not follow out immediately.Ever since, Cousins made 4 of 3 three-pointers.More importantly, Cousins not only has the ability to shoot three-pointers, but also can attack and break through with the ball.This provides a lot of space for the Warriors' shooters to run and cut.In the game that night, Curry and Thompson received a feed from Cousins and scored an easy layup.For Curry and Thompson, although the possession of the ball has become less and less, they have more and more opportunities to run out of space.Durant, Cousins, Curry, who is double-teaming?Let who?The Clippers did not solve this problem, so they lost cleanly.
With 15 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists in 3 minutes, Cousins like this has improved the Warriors' already explosive combat effectiveness.In the next few games, Cousins' performance was also very eye-catching.Although he couldn't play for too long due to injuries, his performance of averaging 20+15+7 in 4 minutes per game is still the same as the league's number one center.
Now, for all the teams that want to compete for the championship, the biggest opponents on the list should be the Warriors!How the Thunder should deal with the complete Warriors is the biggest problem on their way to defending the title.
The Nuggets this season are an X factor.Speaking of which, the Nuggets and the Bucks have some similarities.It's a group of strong players playing around an absolute core.The difference is the difference between Jokic and Antetokounmpo.The Thunder can make Antetokounmpo fall into a solo fight by targeting Antetokounmpo.But you can't limit Jokic in the same way.His ability to organize and support is stronger than most traditional No. [-] players.It is too difficult for him to fight alone.In this season, the Nuggets have performed very well on both offense and defense, and their efficiency ranks among the top in the league.More importantly, the Thunder and the Nuggets played against each other twice, losing to each other both times.They don't seem to have found a way to beat the Nuggets yet.
In any case, the road to victory must be difficult.The team that wins the championship must be the team that played the best in the playoffs that year.Every team that wins the O'Brien Cup has gone through all the obstacles to the end.If the Thunder want to defend their title, they must face enormous difficulties.They also have that mental preparation.
Before the game between the Thunder and the Bucks, a piece of good news reached the Thunder.
On January 1, Paul George was among the starters for the 25 Charlotte All-Star Game announced by the league.The rest of the players, LeBron James, is a recruit in the West, but this name is worthy of a starting position; the Warriors' Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant still occupy two seats; Harden.It's no surprise that the Eastern Conference starts.Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker.Among them, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the All-Star ticket kings in the West and East respectively, and they are also the two captains of this All-Star.
Judging from his performance this season, Paul George is also worthy of this All-Star starter.The data of 27.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game, coupled with the Thunder's top record in the league, are enough to make him comparable to the other four All-Star starters.Moreover, this season, Westbrook's further decentralization has made Paul George the Thunder's most dazzling star.
In contrast, An Luo is still worse than Paul George.His performance is basically focused on scoring.This can be seen from his average of 28.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game.Moreover, An Luo's playing style is not as popular as Paul George.Even though Paul George shoots from outside the three-point line a lot of times, An Luo can't do those thrilling blocks and earth-shattering dunks that are staged from time to time.
More importantly, in the West, the competition between the backcourt players is much greater than the competition between the frontcourt players.Among the frontcourt players, apart from James, Durant, and Paul George, Anthony Davis is more likely to be selected for the starting lineup.Jokic and Towns are still a bit worse.Although Doncic of the Lone Ranger has a high number of fan votes, it is too difficult to be selected as an All-Star starter in his rookie season.The backcourt is different!A large crowd competed for the two spots.Curry, Harden, An Luo, Lillard, Westbrook, Thompson, plus a Derrick Rose!
For An Luo, the 2019 All-Star starter is an unattainable thing.He himself is well aware of his situation.However, when the list was actually announced, An Luo was still very disappointed.
(End of this chapter)